I’ve always heard different stories on the best way to hard-cook an egg and whether it matters how long you boil it up here at 5,280 feet.

It seems I’ve always managed to cook them a little bit too long, getting that horrid sulfurous green rime around the edge of the yolks — that is, until this batch, which I peeled and pickled with a can of beets, using this recipe. The lessons I learned apply if you’re peeling those eggs for an egg salad or deviled eggs for Easter brunch. If you’re only going to dye them and not eat them, it doesn’t matter so much.

They came out so fancy and pretty that I had to know what I did right. So I consulted Food Editor emeritus Tucker Shaw, and learned this: Hard-boiled is a misnomer. You can’t let them boil.

"No Sniveling" is the motto, emblazoned throughout the restaurant and even on the checks, for Castle Rock's Castle Cafe.

I traveled to Castle Rock Tuesday to visit a Douglas County archeological and paleontological site, a dried-up spring where mammoths and other Pleistocene megafauna (big beasts) used to roam and die, and where early North Americans hunted and maybe camped.

And so the lunch spot, the Castle Cafe Restaurant in Castle Rock, was the perfect choice: the place has been around since the 1890s.

The key to eating well even when you can’t face another trip to the market is having a well-stocked kitchen. Put these on your always-have list: Frozen peas. Lemon. Parmesan cheese. Plenty of pasta. Pancetta.

Pancetta sounds a lot fancier than what it is: cured (but not smoked) pork belly — for all intents and purposes, bacon. Pancetta is milder in flavor than traditional bacon, though, which is what makes it so great — when used carefully, it adds heft to a dish without overwhelming it. You can find it at your favorite butcher for about 10-18 bucks a pound, depending on the source. Pick up a pound – it keeps for ages, and you’ll use it.

The nice thing about pancetta is the bang for the buck – it doesn’t take a lot to work its magic. That pound you bought will last for several meals.

OK, that’s perhaps overstating it. But the smart thing about the title and tenor of her book was that it gave people license to grumble — without letting them off the hook for cooking dinner.

In other words, you can hate it, but you still have to do it.

Bracken’s hallmark was easy recipes and snarky instructions, as evidenced in this surprisingly tasty (and ridiculously easy) recipe from the 1986 reprint, entitled “The Compleat I Hate To Cook Book.” It’s not perfect (these cookies fall apart really easily) but it’s a breeze to do (even after that extra glass of wine).

Be like these Peeps and get busy on your diorama. Upload it by midnight, tonight!

For this year’s contest, we are asking for dioramas and sculptures. Get some Peeps, and get creative: Think about what’s happening in politics, movies, music or even in your neighborhood.

How to enter: Take a digital photo of your creation, and upload it at youpost.denverpost.com/submit-your-photos. In the “description of your photo” field, include the title of your piece, your full name, age and mailing address.

Deadline: Midnight Friday, March 16. Winners will appear in the April 4 Food section, and all entries will appear online at denverpost.com. First and second place for adults, and first and second place for children up to age 12 will be awarded Peeps & Co. gift baskets, provided by Just Born, the maker of Peeps.

The time has come. You have just one more day to enter our Peeps contest.

For this year’s contest, we are asking for dioramas and sculptures. Get some Peeps, and get creative: Think about what’s happening in politics, movies, music or even in your neighborhood.

How to enter: Take a digital photo of your creation, and upload it at youpost.denverpost.com/submit-your-photos. In the “description of your photo” field, include the title of your piece, your full name, age and mailing address.

Deadline: Midnight Friday, March 16. Winners will appear in the April 4 Food section, and all entries will appear online at denverpost.com. First and second place for adults, and first and second place for children up to age 12 will be awarded Peeps & Co. gift baskets, provided by Just Born, the maker of Peeps.

The time has come! For this year’s contest, we are asking for dioramas and sculptures. Get some Peeps, and get creative: Think about what’s happening in politics, movies, music or even in your neighborhood.

How to enter: Take a digital photo of your creation, and upload it at youpost.denverpost.com/submit-your-photos. In the “description of your photo” field, include the title of your piece, your full name, age and mailing address.

Deadline: Midnight Friday, March 16. Winners will appear in the April 4 Food section, and all entries will appear online at denverpost.com. First and second place for adults, and first and second place for children up to age 12 will be awarded Peeps & Co. gift baskets, provided by Just Born, the maker of Peeps.

1. Rich flavor, which comes from using quality ingredients and careful prep.
2. Supple texture, which comes from using quality ingredients and careful prep.

Isn’t it nice when you can kill two birds with the same stone(s)?

Both parts of the equation start at point of purchase. You can make do with grocery store meat, but you can do much better with meat sourced from a local butcher and ground to order (no secret here: I love Oliver’s in Capitol Hill). Believe it or not, it won’t cost that much more (maybe a buck a pound), and it’s an errand you can get done in minutes.